The Bay Area's newest lottery winner says he has his deceased mother to thank for hitting the jackpot.
Arnel C.’s mother died a year ago. He said among her belongings he found a list of her favorite lottery numbers stashed under the bed.
He said he's played those numbers ever since.
Last Tuesday they hit.
His mother's numbers matched everything but the mega number, which means he won $542,032.
The winning numbers were 31, 24, 20, 33, and 36. He missed winning millions by just one number; the mega number of 44.
In part because Arnel missed the mega number, the MEGA Millions lottery continues to roll over.
Tonight $148 million is on the line, according to lottery officials.
MEGA Millions is a multi-state game played in California and 43 other states.
